I was taught to “know your target”. I would not feel comfortable shooting at a wall with a hidden person behind it and not knowing who I was shooting at — a perp who broke into the house or a half naked rape victim who broke in to use my phone.
I realize the perp is far more likely, but I just would not shoot at a target behind cover. I am the defender, not the assailant. He has to come to me. To do that he has to break concealment. He is free to wait behind concealment for the police to arrive after I’ve dialed 911.
I am only shooting when he breaks cover and approaches up the hall.
I think this is terrible advice unless you have seen the perp take cover and know he hasn’t completely fled (if his concealment leads to an exit, even a window he can open and climb through).
I think your advice is terrible. I would never follow it. I understand the mechanics that concealment is not cover and that if desperate, you could shoot right through concealment, but this is terrible advice. If the guy is laying down or has fled, you are sending rounds through your house to the outside.
If you shoot a neighbor kid who came in to your home, even for a bad reason, you aren’t going to feel good about it.
I agree, it would be an awful way to discover a tipsy neighbor who got the wrong house.
Video surveilance systems don’t cost much these days.